So The Story Goes
by Jexena
Summary: Have you ever seen those cell phone violation tickets? How about a parking violation ticket. They are the funny fake tickets that the common man can give to the common ingrate. What happens when Bella comes from the mall to find one on her truck? OneShot


**Title: So The Story Goes …**

**Author: Jexena**

**Genera: Romance / Humor**

**Category: T**

**Summery: Have you ever seen those fake tickets that you can buy at the store. You know the ones that are called things like Cell Phone Violations. There are tickets that the common man can give out to the common ingrate. What happens when Bella comes from the mall to find one on her car for her bad parking job??**

**AN: Okay, so this is what happens when I spend a week in Cali. I come up with weird story ideas. Anyone who has read Dreams Do Come True will be able to testify to that. The nightmare chapter was written while I was in Cali two years ago. Thank you as always to esthermarie for the awesome beta reading. I am glad that you found it so funny. I actually have a couple more crazy story ideas that I will try to write up during the next week. Keep a look out for them.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the convoluted happenings that my mind makes the characters do.**

**So the story goes…**

"Yes, I admit that it is now funny." I said as I rolled my eyes. "But at the time I was pissed. Let's start at the beginning." That was the only way to make it make sense anyway. "Get comfortable … It is a long story." Anthony sat back with one arm around Esther. The other was draped across his torso so that it was resting on his leg with Esther's hand in it. They were really such a beautiful couple. I couldn't help but smile. They really did remind me of Edward and I.

"Okay, so the story goes as such … It was about twenty years ago. I was eighteen and was living with my father, Charlie. I was on my way to the mall in Seattle to go shopping for work clothes. I worked as a 'Customer Service Representative' at a little wannabe REI in Forks. Please, the town was so small that it really was only a glorified title for cashier." I laughed as did Anthony and Esther. "So I was on my way to the mall, my most dreaded destination. I would rather cross a tightrope over the grand cannon, and you know about my balance problems." We all laughed again.

"So I was definitely already in a bad mood. I was even madder because the stupid sports store had decided to change their uniform so I had to go to the mall to get some specific work outfits. So I really wasn't paying attention to my driving or my subsequent parking. I parked my truck that I had at the time into the first space I found. I then jumped out of the cab and walked into the dreaded mall."

"It took me forever to find the right clothes. I swear it felt more like I was getting ready to go to private school than getting clothes for work. They had changed the uniform to a dark blue or black skirt or pants with a blue, black, or gray collared top. Everything I found that fit the prerequisites made me look like I had walked out of one of those animés that I hear so much about." A specific one came to mind. But I didn't want either of them to know that I still watched those kinds of shows. However, I had a secret stash of anime DVDs in my closet and Ouran High School Host Club happened to be one of my favorites.

"So I finally left the store and I decided to get something to eat before the two hour drive back to Forks. God, I am so glad that I decided to move to Seattle. That was a really terrible drive whenever I wanted to actually do anything. Anyway, I got some Chipotle and went to leave the mall. I walked to the front and was caught off guard by a group of five really gorgeous people walking into the mall."

"When I say gorgeous, I mean completely heavenly faces. They were all tall and devastatingly beautiful. All but one that is. The tiny little one was actually the one that caught my eye first. I remember thinking at first that she was possibly a Jr. High student. It was her loud and quick speech that caught my attention. She was going on and on about people that were inconsiderate of others. I only noticed the others as they started to laugh and try to calm her down."

"When one of the guys called her love I started to worry about why a girl that young would have a boyfriend as old as the cute blond that had uttered the words. I soon put that quandary out of my mind when my eyes fell on the gorgeous green eyed, bronze haired God that was laughing with the others." Anthony rolled his eyes at this point but refrained from saying anything.

"I hadn't noticed when I had stopped. But I soon realized that I was stock still just watching these completely beautiful people interact. I was thrown from my mindless ogling when the statuesque blond female asked me with a sneer on her lips if there was anything they could help me with. I quickly blushed as I was pulled from my thoughts on those gorgeous green eyes when they actually turned and locked with mine. I was now frozen even more than before. If that were actually possible."

"'_I asked if there was something we could do for you?_' she had said again. I looked to her and shook my head furiously. '_Then mind your own business and go away._' The blond said as I ran from the mall as quickly as I could. Now I was frustrated and embarrassed. I ran to my truck as fast as I could with the limited sight that my tears would allow. I always hated that I tended to cry when I am embarrassed. I was just thankful that I wasn't in front of that green eyed God when the tears started to flow."

Once again Anthony rolled his eyes and Esther started to giggle. I pressed on though. "So I got to my truck and hauled myself into the cab. I sat there long enough to get my emotions under control. I then went to start the truck as I wiped the tear streaks from my face with the other hand. In the process I ended up hitting the windshield wipers and as they started to streak across the windshield I noticed that there was a small yellow piece of paper stuck to one of them."

"I turned off the wipers and got out of the cab. I was hoping this wasn't another add for some stupid new club. I hated when people did that. I am sure that that is a great advertisement ploy. I mean, there are hundreds of people at the mall at any given time. That leaves you quite a few cars to tag. You are bound to get some business out of the small endeavor. I however can't stand when people stick things to my windshield. I think it has something to do with having a father as a police chief and having a slight fear of getting some kind of ticket that you would then have to go home and explain to said father." I shivered involuntarily. I thankfully never did get a ticket. But the fear was always there in the back of my head.

"I pulled the paper from my window and started to read it. It was the weirdest thing and I found myself getting red with anger as I continued to read down the paper. It was a fake citation. It was partially filled out in some thick balky writing on the top in the blank places. It said…

**Parking **

**Violation**

**Province or State: Washington Automobile License Number: J5X5N1**

**Time: 16:47 Make Of Automobile: POS!!**

**This is not a ticket, but if it were within my **

**power, you would receive two. Because of **

**your Bull Headed, inconsiderate, feeble **

**attempt at parking, you have taken enough **

**room for a 20 mule team, 2 elephants, 1 goat **

**and a safari of pygmies from the African **

**interior. The reason for giving you this is so **

**that in the future you may think of someone **

**else, other than yourself. Besides, I don't like **

**domineering, egotistical or simple minded **

**drivers and you probably fit into one of these **

**categories. **

**I sign off wishing you an early transmission **

**failure (On the express way at about **

**4:30pm) Also may the Fleas of a thousand **

**camels infest your armpits.**

**With My Compliments**

I was actually able to sprout that all out by memory. Not many people knew that I actually kept that and had it laminated as a bookmark for my more favorite books. At the time however it was anything but cute and funny.

"I grabbed the stupid paper and huffed into my cab again. I was pissed now. A whole new set of tears had started to roll down my cheeks now. But they were from pure rage. I could not believe that someone had put this on my truck. I cleared my face of tears again and started my truck. I threw the parking violation on the seat next to me and tried to focus on getting home."

"I am not sure when the idea popped into my head but before I realized what I had decided to do I was sitting in front of the police station that my father worked at. I tried to figure out why I was outside the police station. I looked around and saw that my dad's cruiser wasn't there. I jumped out of the cab and grabbed the note. I ran into the building and as I hit the front desk I had the whole thing figured out in my head."

"I would simply dust the paper for prints. I would then eliminate my own because I wouldn't have given myself a parking violation for a quick park that I had to admit was a little crooked. It wasn't like it was inhibiting anyone from parking in the spot next to me, exactly. It would just be a very tight squeeze."

"So I asked the deputy if I could use the lab for a moment. He wasn't really supposed to let me, but he has known me my whole life. He knew I wasn't going to do anything bad. I went to the lab and dusted the paper and got a couple good prints. When I ran them through our crappy system the computer kicked back a couple of names."

"That was the joy of small town equipment. The computer system was capable of giving me a list of names and address', but no pictures. So I wrote it all down quickly and erased the data from the computer. After that I went back home to cook dinner." I couldn't help but smile again at the next part of the story. This is where it got funny.

"The next day was Sunday. I didn't work and didn't really have anything planned for the day. So I decided that I was going to check out these practical jokers from the day before. I wasn't really as mad now that I had had a good night's sleep. But I still wanted to know who had put the violation on my truck."

"As it turned out I would be heading back to Seattle to find these people. I looked at the list and it said that there were three sets of prints on the violation. The first were mine, that was to be expected. The second belonged to a female by the name of Alice Cullen and I was not surprised to see that she was my age. The second belonged to a male by the name of Emmett Cullen. He was three years older though. They had the same address on the outskirts of Seattle. I hadn't been there before as it was the posher neighborhood."

"So I drove to Seattle and got some food for my stakeout. I didn't know how long it would take for someone to come out of their house so I could find out who exactly put the violation on my truck. So I sat with my Pringles and Vitamin Water and I waited. Eventually someone came out of the house. But there was no way that this guy had been a part of the joke. He was handsome, there is no getting around that." I had to smile again. "He had blond hair and a nice body but he looked like he was in his mid to late thirties. So I figured that this was the father of the practical jokers."

"I watched as he got into a really nice Mercedes and drove away. About an hour later I was shocked by who I saw come out of the house. The really pretty pixie girl looked kind of familiar. She came out of the house at top speed and was yelling something about not being caught. It took about thirty seconds for two guys to come chasing after her. One was the blond boyfriend of the pixyish girl; the other was the gorgeous bronze haired God."

"I was so amazed that these were the people that had put the violation ticket on my truck. They definitely did not look like the type to play such a stupid prank. I definitely know better now." Anthony started to laugh again and Esther smiled a knowing smile. I went back to the story.

"I decided that there was no way that I could do anything at the moment. It took just mere seconds to be reminded of how quickly I was pulled into the entrancing gaze of the one with Bronze hair. I could not let that happen if I was to extract revenge. I decided to go home and plan out what I would do. I decided that I was going to bring it to their turf. That was not necessarily the best decision that I ever made in my life."

We all chuckled again and I remembered the craziness of the next week.

"I decided that I would go back the next day to start said revenge. I just had no clue what I would do. So I spent the night deep in thought. I wanted to get them back. However, I was afraid that they would come back at me then too. I settled that feeling by figuring that I would let them know that I was the one that was given the violation. But how could they possibly get any real information out of that."

"The next day I drove to Seattle again just as planed. I was never really the mischievous type but I was sure that I could come up with something on my long trip up to their home. When I got there I came up with a great idea. I would give them a real violation. I had some in my glove compartment because my father was always running out so I kept some on hand so that I could always just bring him some in a pinch."

"When I got to the house there was a shiny silver Volvo parked in front of the house at the curb. I prayed that it belonged to Alice or Emmett, at the very least that it belonged to any of the people that were at the mall with them with the exception of that blond female. So I filled out the citation and placed it on the windshield."

"I was a bit hesitant at first. This was a really nice neighborhood after all, but you never knew if a car like this had it's alarm set. So I ran over to the car then tentatively picked up the wiper blade to place the ticket under it. I then bolted back to my truck and sat to wait and see what would happen next."

"I was beyond terrified when the next person to leave the house was said blond bombshell." Anthony laughed again and I glared playfully. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair then threw his hands up in surrender.

"I'm sorry. I will quit." He said apologetically. But he had that patronizing crooked grin that made me not believe him.

"You had better." I said playfully. "Anyway, the blond went to the car and got something from the trunk. Then thankfully she went back into the house. About another hour later the Bronze haired one came out. My heart leapt to my throat when he walked around the front of the car and opened the driver's side door. He sat down for a second before he got back out and ripped the paper from under the wiper blade. He looked livid. I was now more scared of him than the blond."

I quickly looked to Anthony who was shaking his head trying desperately to control his laughter. He quickly stifled his silent laughter when his eyes caught mine. "You really can be just as absurd as he always says you are." He said when he could talk and be understood.

"Do you want me to continue this story or not." He zipped his lips and set both of his hands clasped together in his lap.

"Thank you." I said as I smiled. "So I watched from my truck as he looked around before running back in the house calling for Emmett and Alice. I waited and waited for something else to happen before I decided to just head home for the day. I got home in time to make dinner and decided to go to bed. In the morning I awoke to an unusually sunny day. I decided that I would let this whole thing go for a day and decided to take a book and went to read in the front yard."

"I think I will give you the edited version of that day. This is what I found out after the fact. So when the bronze haired guy went back into the house he went after Emmett and Alice since it was their stupid trick that started this whole mess. He told them that the ticket better not actually be real. They argued with him that he had no proof that it had anything to do with the fake ticket at the mall. His reasoning was that there was no reason to get a ticket when he was parked right in front of his own house."

"At that point Alice took the ticket from him and read it through. She got a happy smile on her face and started to bounce up and down."

"And that means what as apposed to how she normally acts?" Anthony asked with a snort.

"Granted, but this is what I was told so that is all I have to go by." I answered him.

"And who told you? Dad?"

"As a matter of fact it was Emmett."

"Still means little."

"Anthony, do you want the tale or not?"

"Okay, okay. So she found something on the ticket. What was it?" Anthony asked

"I didn't think far enough ahead when I wrote it out. I kind of forgot that it said Town of Forks across the top of the ticket." They both started to laugh as I pressed on. "So they were told to drop it all. They were to do nothing about the real ticket. It was going to be treated as a fake one and that was the end of the whole thing. Alice and Emmett however did not agree with him. They waited for him to go out the next day then they jumped into his jeep. They traveled all the way to Forks before they even thought of the fact that they had no idea how to find me."

"At first Emmett wanted to go to the police station and try to find out that way. But they didn't know what I looked like and they didn't want to bring up the ticket lest they have to explain why it now has to be paid. So after figuring out that Emmett could stretch and be past the city limits they decided to patrol through the streets and see if they could spot me or my truck."

"So back to me. I took my blanket and a book I had recently gotten out to the front yard and decided that I would see if I could finish the book so I could go and get then next in the series that had just came out the Friday before. I ended up finishing it and noticed that I actually didn't have enough to get my book so I was going to go pick up my paycheck that I couldn't pick up the day before since I was in Seattle all day."

"So I folded up my blanket and put it on the couch with my book and locked up so that I could go get my check and cash it so I could get my book. I jumped in the cab and sped off to Newton's Outfitters. I grabbed my check and as I was heading back to the truck my phone vibrated. I checked the caller ID and saw that it was my father. I told him that I was picking up my check and heading to the book store then I would be home to cook dinner. He said OK and we hung up."

"I jumped back into the truck and went to the bank to cash my check. I went to the book store to pick up my book and went back home. I swear I had the sense the whole way home that I was being followed but I ignored it. So when I got home I made dinner and started on my new book. I made sure to go to bed at a decent time as I worked the morning shift the next day. When I woke up I took a shower and got dressed for work. I kissed my father goodbye and left for work."

"I got there early, as usual, so I went across the road and got a croissant and some coffee for breakfast. I then went back and started to set up the register. It was never terribly busy so I took my time and was actually quite surprised to hear the bell at only ten after nine. I usually didn't get any customers until about noon on weekdays. I looked up at who walked in the door and stiffened immediately. I had to try to play it cool though. I could only assume that this was Alice and Emmett. I was silently praying that this was a huge coincidence."

"Of course, I am never that lucky. So I asked if they needed any help and hoped they said no. Emmett did say no and Alice skipped over to the apparel section of the store. She ended up coming back to the front with five pairs of hiking boots. She also had a bright pink rain parka with matching goulashes and a good length of tarp. I rang it all up but was stopped when Emmett asked to see one of the hunting knives in the case behind me. He ended up adding a big Bowie knife to the stack and I rang them up."

"Alice paid with a lovely platinum card that I noticed said Mary Alice Cullen in thick letters across the bottom. Emmett grabbed my attention again while Alice signed and I forgot about her until she started to take the bags from the counter top. I bid them a great day and watched them walk out of the store and get into the red jeep. I picked up the signed receipt and was about to put it in the drawer when I noticed that it said something on the back."

**Let the games begin!!**

"It said in neat squiggly letters across the back. I was now terrified. They knew that I knew where they lived. And I knew that they knew where I worked. That coupled with the feeling from yesterday made me think that they might have actually been following me yesterday. So they probably actually knew where I lived as well. I was starting to work myself up pretty well as I started to think about the items they had just bought. They were the makings of a get-away-with-murder kit."

"Let's just say that I was completely hyperventilating when Mike came in at noon. He asked me if I was okay and if I needed to go home. I eventually thought that would be a good idea. I slowly drove home. I made sure to take in everything around me on the drive to see if they were following me. When I got home I made sure that all the windows and doors were locked."

"While I worked on dinner for Charlie and I, I started to think about it. That had been a joke. Be it an expensive joke. But there was no way they were going to kill me because I gave them a real citation. It isn't even legally binding. I am sure they have figured that out by now. So that little note was to say that the ball was now in my court. Let the game begin indeed."

"I actually worked for the next three days so I couldn't get a chance to head back to Seattle to continue our little game. It actually gave me some time to find out what I wanted to do next. I was totally coming up blank. It was obvious from the cars, house, neighborhood, and credit card that these people had money. Not to mention the fact that they were obviously willing to dish out a considerable chuck just to play the next round of this silly game we had started. So I finally decided what I was going to do to start the next round."

"I was going to have that lovely red jeep towed. It seemed like a fitting response to them making me think that they were going to chop me to bits and get rid of the pieces. So I went back to the station on Saturday after I got off of work. Since I knew my father would be out fishing. I talked to the deputy on duty and got some alone time with the computer system. I found out that a Mr. Emmett McCarty-Cullen was the proud owner of said beautiful red jeep. That was perfect. So I set forth in the plan to have the mall staked out for said jeep."

"I posted an APB saying that it was stolen and the thief had a fake ID claiming to be Emmett Cullen. I then made plans to go to Port Angeles with my friend Angela on Sunday. We had a great time just walking through the tourist town. That is until I was walking across the street paying more attention to Angela than I was where my feet were taking me. I ended up tripping in front of a nasty looking bar and got a piece of glass wedged pretty well into my leg."

"The way the ambulance system works in Port Angeles is that it is equally distant from three hospitals. The first ambulance that answers the call gets the pickup. As it turned out I was taken to Seattle's main hospital. None of this mattered at the moment though. I was passed out from the sight and smell of the blood. Angela wasn't doing much better either though. I know because Charlie wasn't even told that something happened until I was in the recovery room from getting stitches."

"When I came too there was a nurse in my room checking the read outs on the machines that I was hooked up too. No one knew why I was unconscious for so long being as I was already unconscious when the ambulance picked me up. So they put an IV in and ran some blood and other tests to make sure the cut to my leg was truly my only injury."

"As the nurse was finishing telling me what was going on the door to my room opened and Angela walked in talking to the doctor. I froze and I heard my heart monitor skyrocket. This alerted the doctor to the fact that I was awake. He rushed over to me trying to calm me down. But he could never guess in that moment why I had freaked out the way I had."

"'_I am glad that you are finally awake Miss. Swan. I am Dr. Cullen, please call me Carlisle though._' he said to me. I was trying to get my heart to calm down. I kept telling myself that there is no way he knows who I am. I shook his hand and waited patiently for him to continue speaking. '_Don't worry, we will have you out of here in no time. It seems that the staff was a little overly concerned with how long you were passed out for and decided to take things into their own hands. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you. You see this is a teaching hospital and we often have rather ambitious interns. Rest assured though that I will have you out of here within the hour._' He then smiled a lovely caring smile that helped calm my heart instantly_._"

"'_Dr. Cullen._' a nurse said from the door then. '_Your son is here to see you._' My heart monitor picked up again and I was worried if it was Emmett coming to talk about the Jeep incident. I was actually amazed that it would have been found at the mall so quickly. Now that I knew that their father was a doctor it was easy to see where the kids got the money. I also saw that they really liked spending daddy's money. I decided to store that information away and see if it would come in handy at a later date."

"'_Is it Emmett or Edward?_' Carlisle asked the nurse."

"'_Edward_' I heard a smooth voice call from the doorway. I looked over to see the Bronze haired God. He was so gorgeous that I couldn't help but stare at him. '_Sorry to just stop by but I had to get out of that house. I was hoping that I could get in a few hours of volunteer work before you head home today._' Edward said with a breathtaking crooked smile. I could vaguely hear the heart monitor picking up again but I ignored it until both Edward and Carlisle turned to me worriedly. This made it spike again along with the blush that came to my cheeks at the first sign of embarrassment."

"'_I didn't notice that you were with a patient._' Edward said as he stared into my eyes again. He actually took a few steps into the room and looked at me with a puzzled expression. '_You look familiar._' He said as he took a couple more steps towards my bed. I looked down at my lap as I pulled my hair around my face to hid the current blush. I was just lucky that he hadn't realized where he had seen me before. I couldn't be sure that he wasn't in on the 'game' with Alice and Emmett."

"Carlisle then grabbed Edward's attention again. '_You can actually help Miss. Swan with her discharge papers. Then once she is all set to get out of here you can come find me in my office._' He then turned to me. '_Is it alright with you Miss. Swan, if Edward here gets you out of here. I have some rather pressing matters to attend to with my overzealous staff._' I smiled as I told him that it was alright and he bid me a good day."

"'_So, Miss. Swan,_' Edward started as he grabbed my chart to look at why I was even there."

"'_Please, call me Bella._' I told him. There was a small cough from the other side of my bed and I realized for the first time since she walked in that Angela was by my bed side. '_I am so sorry Ang, Edward, this is my best friend Angela, Angela, this is Edward Cullen._'"

"'_I gathered as much._' Angela snorted a laugh. She could tell exactly what I thought of Edward. It comes with growing up with someone. You end up knowing absolutely everything about them whether you want too or not. So Edward got me all situated to leave and then he got me a wheel chair to help me get to Angela's car. He walked with us to Angela's car and on the way he made sure to tell me how to properly care for the stitches so that nothing happened to them and made sure that I made an appointment in two weeks to have them checked to make sure that they were healing correctly."

"I was loving the sound of his voice so much that I couldn't find it in myself to tell him this was in no way the first time I had gotten stitches. When we got to the car Angela opened my door for me and Edward surprised me by picking me up and placing me in the passenger seat. I smiled at him and thanked him as I cursed my tell tale blush. Edward then leaned down and asked if I would mind getting together with him for dinner sometime. '_Like maybe on Saturday?_' He had asked. I told him that I would love too and he smiled that Heart stopping crooked smile again. He then grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it."

"I blushed yet again and he chuckled as he closed my door for me. '_Bella, can I get your number so that I can call you to settle the details of Saturday later tonight?_' Edward asked when I rolled down my window to say one last goodbye to him. I pulled out my cell and asked him for his instead. He didn't seem to like not having mine to be able to call me but he gave me his anyway."

"We said goodbye one more time and Angela pulled off for our long trip back home. Once we were about a mile from the hospital I called Edward. He picked up on the third ring and said '_This is Edward._'"

"I chuckled as I spoke into the phone softly. '_Now you can call me whenever you want._'"

"'_Bella?_' He asked happily."

"'_You sound awfully happy. You must really like talking to this Bella girl?_'"

"He chuckled softly before he told me that he would call me later since he was now at his father's office. So I closed my phone with a smile on my face . Unfortunately Angela was a bit too observant for my good. She noticed my actions with Edward and being that she knew I was not one to date she asked me what was up and if I knew why he said he recognized me."

"I was a bit hesitant to tell her the story but I ended up getting her up to speed with who the doctor was and my prank war with Alice and Emmett. After telling her I started to worry about what Edward would think about me if he knew it was my truck that they had put the fake ticket on. I also started to wonder if I should just tell him where he saw me and see what happens. Angela and I decided that it would be best to tell him everything that night when he called and see what happened."

"Needless to say I was very worried for the rest of the night. Charlie was beside himself with worry when Angela finally got me home. He carried me into the house and up to my room. He said that he would order pizza for dinner and would bring me some when it got there. He didn't want time to be getting out of bed for at least a day. He figured that that would give my stitches a lesser chance of ripping open. I told him that he was worrying too much. But he ignored me and told me not to get out of the bed if it wasn't for 'personal reasons'"

"So I sat on my bed waiting for Edward's call just hoping that he wouldn't take all this the wrong way. It wasn't long before Charlie was knocking on my door with my pizza. He had also brought me up two cans of Coke so I wouldn't have to go down to get more if I wanted it. He told me that he would be watching the game and to holler down if I needed anything. I told him okay and he left."

"It was about nine o'clock when Edward finally called. I was very happy to hear his voice and I was just hoping that after I told him what I had to that he would still want to go out to dinner with me on Saturday."

"'_I am sorry that I am calling you so late._' He had said."

"'_Don't worry about it. I was just reading._'"

"'_I have a really good reason though if you want to hear it._'"

"'_If you really want to tell me I am all ears. But you really have no reason too explain yourself._'"

"'_This will help make you laugh though. I am sure that if I had to get stitches and was now on pain meds that I would jump at any chance to get my mind off that situation._'"

"'_Good point. So what is your funny story?_'"

"He started to chuckle as he told me his story. '_So you know that I was at the hospital helping my father today, well at about six o'clock I got a call from my brother Emmett._' At the sound of his name the smile that had been on my face in anticipation of this funny story melted away. I only hoped his buoyant mood would still be in place when I told him how I had something to do with his brother calling him. '_So it turns out that he and our sister have been having this elaborate prank war with this chick that lives in some tiny town about two hours away from here._'"

"'_So today this girl found a way to get his car towed and him arrested for the theft of his own car. She is good. I hope to one day meet this chick. The way I see it, anyone that can out prank Emmett is golden in my book._' Let's just say that I got a big boost of confidence from his little unintended confession. So I cleared my throat to get his attention."

"'_Um… Edward?_'"

"'_Yes, Bella?_'"

"'_I have a confession to tell you._'"

"'_Shoot._' He said hesitantly."

"'_You remember how in the hospital you said that I looked familiar?_'"

"'_Yes_'"

"'_Well I know where we have met before. Well, not actually met, but have seen each other before._' I had decided to just get it all out before I lost my nerve so I just kept going without giving him a chance to speak. '_So I am sure you remember the day that you went to the mall about a week ago. Emmett and Alice thought they would be funny and put a fake ticket on a truck that was parked at a really bad angle. So … That was my truck. I happen to catch sight of you guys coming into the mall as I was leaving. I remember that there was a pair of blonds with you as well. The female asked if there was something that you could help me with because she realized that I was just standing in the middle of the hallway staring at you who was staring right back at me._'"

"'_So when I was able to break free of your gaze I said no and ran to my truck to try to get away from my embarrassment. When I got to my truck I found the ticket and it pissed me off. So when I got back home, to Forks, I went to the police station to try to figure out who the practical joker was. The combination of my embarrassment and the stupidness of the fake ticket made me livid. So I went to take matters into my own hands._'"

"'_My father is the police chief of this tiny town so I know all the deputies, all three of them. So I asked to use the lab and I dusted the paper for prints. We don't have that great of equipment so all it was able to do was give me the names of the owners of the prints and their address. I went the next day to your house and the first person I saw was Carlisle leaving. I assume to go to the hospital. Then I saw Alice run out of the house followed by you and the blond guy. I am guessing he is her boyfriend because I heard him call her love at the mall._'"

"'_Anyway, so I watched you guys for a while and decided that I was going to get even. I went home and used the night to come up with something to do. I decided that I would get even with a actual parking violation scare. So I drove back to your house the next day and when I saw the shiny Volvo out in front of your house I hoped it belonged to one of the two of them and put the violation on it. I was a little wary when the first person out of the house was the blond girl and she went straight to the car. I was happy however when she just went to the trunk to get something then went back in the house._'"

"'_The next thing that happened though made me actually even more worried. I saw you come out of the house and get into the car. When you saw the ticket and bolted back into the house I think I was more afraid of what you might do to get even then what the blond would have done. So I took off once you went into the house. I hoped that would be the end of it. However, two days later Alice and Emmett showed up at my job and pretty much scared the crap out of me. I had to go home early I was so shaken up. But once I actually calmed down I realized it was just part of the prank game. The ball was now in my court and I had to find something to do to get them back for how badly they scared me._'"

"'_So I went back to the station and found out what kind of vehicle Emmett drove and put an APB on it saying that it was stolen and the person that had position of it had a fake ID that said that he was Emmett Cullen. I then took today off of the prank war and went to Port Angeles with my friend Angela. I was hoping by doing this they couldn't get me at all today. Then I fell in front of a bar and cut my leg open and ended up with your father as my doctor. Small world isn't it?_' I finished my little rant with a shaky voice. I wasn't even sure if he could understand me anymore."

"'_And now this is where we are._' It was very quiet for a good five minutes. I was starting to think that he had actually hung up on me because it was all too much for him. Then just as I was starting to panic that I had screwed up something that could be great before it actually even started he started to speak."

"'_So let me get this straight … you are the owner of that enormously clunky truck that was parked crooked that day. You in turn are the daughter of a police officer in a town nearly 120 miles away. Because of Alice and Emmett's stupid knack for being childish you are now in a prank war with them. And we have a date for Saturday night._'"

"'_Yes._' I whispered. I was very wary of how he said that we had a date for Saturday. It was almost as if he was saying that that possibility was before he realized how childish I could be. I was actually on the verge of tears. But as I still had Edward on the phone I refused to let them spill over. I couldn't allow myself to be this affected by something that had no possibility of ever even happening. But once again Edward brought me back from my sad musings with his glorious laughter."

"'_That is awesome. I told them to leave you alone. When you put that ticket on my car I was completely livid. I told them that they better pray that it wasn't a real ticket. I have been driving for the last four years and I have a perfect record. I would have murdered them in their sleep. I would then be an only child but my parents would have gotten over it eventually. Especially since I was always the one to cause them the least trouble._' He said all of this just as fast as my confession and you could hear the laughter in his voice the whole time."

"I couldn't help but smile as he kept going. I was so relieved that he wouldn't be braking off our date. '_So, Bella?_'"

"'_Yes, Edward?_'"

"'_Do you think I can get in on the game. Just for my own payback as being the one to have to go straighten things out so that our parents didn't have to find out how he got in jail this time._'"

"'_This time?_' I asked intrigued. '_So he has been incarcerated before?_'"

"'_Oh the stories I could tell you._'"

"'_I would love to hear them._'"

"'_So how about we meet at noon in Port Angeles and I will tell you some stories?_'"

"'_Sounds like a plan. But because of the stitches my father won't let me out of bed at all tomorrow._'"

"'_I am so sorry. I forgot all about the stitches._'"

"'_I'm not if it wasn't for the stitches we wouldn't be talking now._'"

"'_I didn't think of that. Well can I call you tomorrow then?_'"

"'_I would love that._'"

"'_I will talk to you tomorrow then, Bella. I am so glad that you filled me in. I have to go tease Emmett now. Have a wonderful night and sweet dreams._'"

"'_Thank you Edward. I look forward to talking to you tomorrow, and sweet dreams to you as well._'"

"We both hung up and I went to sleep having a wonderful dream about all the places we could go on Saturday for our first date. At least I would still get to talk to him the next day. He actually called me every day until Saturday when he surprised me by showing up at my house at noon to take me out for the day. And believe me I needed to get out. Charlie was so overprotective that week I wasn't able to leave my room unless he was there to take me up and down the stairs."

"So that is how it all started. Our wonderful first date turned into a spectacular second. From there we were practically attached at the hip. Emmett used to make comments about Carlisle being able to sever our attachment if I ever got sick of Edward."

"And the rest, as they say, is history. I think that is enough story time. Anthony I am sure Esther needs to be getting home now. I am sure I will be seeing you again soon dear."

"Thank you so much for the story. It was fascinating to know how you and Anthony's father met. He has been telling me for some time that I need to hear the story." Esther said as she gave me a hug good night.

"You are welcome." I said as I moved on to my gorgeous son. I looked into his sparkling green eyes. I loved the fact that he had his father's hair and eyes. "Your father should be home soon. Please don't be too late getting home. You know how he worries."

"Yes mom I do. I should be back in about an hour. I love you. And just for the record, you tell that story way better then dad." He smiled Edward's amazing crooked smile and turned to wrap his arm around Esther's waist. "Come, love I guess it is time for us to part again for the night."

"Do not worry," Esther said back to him. "For tomorrow is never far away as long as we are in each other's hearts." She then leaned up to kiss him as I closed the door behind them.


End file.
